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The 34th-annual Northern Interdenominational Ladies and Teens Christian Retreat will be held March 22-24 at the Days Inn and Conference Centre. The theme of the event is Steadfast in the Pure Truth. Among the women attending the event will be, back row, from left, Nicole Leblanc, Johanna Lantz, Lynn Berard, and Corinna Bourget; front row, from left, Claudette Cornelsen and the teen speaker for the event, Katryna Bourget.

It will be a weekend-long girls night out of sorts, but with a heavenly twist.

The scene will be the 34th-annual Northern Interdenominational Ladies and Teens Christian Retreat being held March 22-24 at the Days Inn and Conference Centre.

“Steadfast in the pure truth is our theme, and that will be spoken through our speaker, Peggy Kennedy, and through our teen speaker, Katryna Bourget,” said Corinna Bourget, the event’s organizer. “We will have a band that will be singing songs of praise, and there will be workshops, prayer sessions and refreshments.

“It warms my heart knowing that we’ve had this privilege for 34 years for our community and surrounding Northern areas, that they could come to a facility and hear the gospel truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Guest speaker Peggy Kennedy is an ordained minister and has authored three books. She will be “declaring the very special message from the heart of the Lord for women today,” to the adults, while Katryna Bourget, a local fourth-year psychology major at Laurentian University, will be doing the same for the more youthful audience.

“I’m going to be talking about what it means to be a true Christian and the difficulties that Christians face, geared mainly to young teenage girls,” said Katryna. “The evening sessions will be on trials and how, as Christians, we can face those trials in a positive manner and how your faith is tested by them. It’s also just a time to spend some time with the girls, get to know them, have some girl time. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Katryna, who hopes to eventually be a teacher, said she can relate to what younger girls struggling with their faith are going through.

“I’m 22 years old, so it hasn’t been that long since I was a teenager, and I know the struggles they go through and so on,” she said. “I’ve been there. Being a Christian is never easy, but in the end, it’s all worth it. It’s great to be able to depend on God and carry that faith with you wherever you go.

“I hope they will come out of there with something good to hold on to.”

Corinna explained that she believes, “It would be very sad and devastating for all of us on that search for truth if we don’t know where it is or in whom we can find it.

“That’s why it’s an honour and a privilege that we can have a Christian women and teen retreat where people can come and hear what is truth and where it can be found. Everything we do – through our songs being sung, through the workshops that will be done in the afternoon, through the warm, gentle handshake of a lady coming in, to our speakers – it is all directed and pointed to one person giving us hope, and that is our Lord saviour.”

Individual sessions during the weekend cost $18 for ladies and $12 for teens per session to attend. For those taking advantage of early registration before March 10, a weekend-long Ladies plan can be purchased for $45, with the Teens plan costing $30. College and university students with a valid identification card can also get a weekend-long plan for $30 with early registration. Tickets will be available up until the weekend of the event and can be purchased at the door upon entry if necessary.

For more information on the retreat or to enquire about tickets, contact Corinna Bourget at (705) 268-9988 during the day or (705) 360-5391 in the evening.